Abstract [en]

When compared with other cities in Northern Sweden, the history of Umeå is exceptional in many aspects. The growth of the city has caused discussion regarding its role in, and impact on, the surrounding region. Given this, the paper initiates a discussion about Umeå but also aims to add to the knowledge and analysis of the dynamics of cities. The story of how a small town in a region rich in natural resources and relatively distant from the national capital, has—at least so far—managed to avoid the curse of natural resources is interesting as a case in the economic history of regions and cities. The roots of the development have not previously been analyzed. This also means that we have to analyze the complex relation between Umeå and its surrounding resource-rich region. It is actually possible to trace much of the complexity in this relationship to unresolved destructive relations between the historical role of the natural resources in the region and its current economic, social, and cultural challenges. We discuss the urban history of northern Sweden and especially how various forms of power during history were distributed between its cities. This leads to the analysis of the importance of natural resources in the creation of wealth in the region, but also the risk of being caught up by the curse that any such region faces. We present three hypothesizes as to why Umeå came to develop in a way that differs from other cities and, finally, we try to identify future threats for the city to tackle.